Wyatt Dixon was not having a great evening. In fact, his evening was so not great, “disaster” would have been an improvement.
“What looks good?” he asked the polished woman seated across from him. Though they had been given a coveted table near the cozy fireplace in the dining room of the Lighthouse Bar and Grille, the air at the table was distinctly chilly.
“Hmmm,” came the noncommittal response.
This was Wyatt’s third date with Amanda Wingler, and it didn’t take his thirty-year history in law enforcement to figure out this date would probably be their last. With an inward sigh, he tried again. He wasn’t sure why; perhaps it was because he had never been a quitter.
“I want to apologize again for being so late. If I had been able to get here sooner, I would have.”
His date laid down her menu with a sigh. “It really wasn’t so much that you were late, but that you didn’t see fit to call me personally. I would have preferred to hear from you instead of some anonymous dispatcher.”
Fingers tightening on the leather-bound menu, he counted to ten. He was grateful for the poker face that had become part and parcel of who he was, otherwise he felt certain his date would have fled the table or slung water on him in outrage. “Unfortunately, a message from the dispatcher was the best I could do.”
He refused to explain any further and was debating whether or not to just end the agony of the date then and there, when the hostess guided a couple to a nearby table. When he saw who the woman was, he silently groaned. Maria Pace. The evening only needed this. Catching her gaze, he nodded politely. She smiled and gave a small wave in return.
“Friend of yours?” The acerbic tone of Amanda’s voice caught him off guard.
“One of my staff from the department. Why?”
Snorting, his companion took a large gulp of her red wine. “Really? Just one of your staff? The way you were looking at her, I figured she was more than that.”
Scowling deeply, his patience for histrionics gone, Wyatt remembered vividly why he had been so reluctant to re-enter the shark pond that made up the dating scene. As he opened his mouth to suggest they cut their losses, the phone on his belt buzzed insistently. With a muttered curse that made Amanda’s eyes grow wide with shock, he looked at the screen and answered the call.
“Dixon here.”
“Sheriff, I’m sorry to bother you, but we have a situation,” dispatcher Carrie Greer said. “There’s been an abduction of a six-year-old girl by her noncustodial father who was just released from prison.”
Wyatt laid his napkin on the table, preparing to stand. “Who’s on it?”
“Detectives Moore and Kirchner, along with all the patrols we could pull, sir. The state boys are sending some units too.”
“Send the info and address to my SUV. I’ll head in that direction in five minutes.”
“Will do, sir. Oh, one more thing—Detective Moore has requested Maria Pace be brought to the scene of the abduction. Apparently there’s some footage on surveillance tapes he needs her to access. Should I send a car by her apartment?”
Wyatt looked across the room at Maria. “No, I know where she is. I’ll bring her with me.” Signing off, he turned back to his date. “Amanda…”
She held up a hand to stop him. “I heard. You have to go. I’ll take a cab home. We should probably call it quits while we’re still remotely friendly with each other, don’t you think?”
“I do.” He stood and flagged down their server, relieved that she understood and a little ashamed by that relief. “Jean, I’m afraid I have to leave. Whatever the lady wants, put it on my tab?”
The girl smiled. “Of course, Sheriff.”
He spread his hands ruefully. “There’s no reason you can’t have a nice meal before you leave, Amanda. Take care.”
After a two-finger salute to the unhappy woman, he headed across the room to interrupt another date. He unsuccessfully tried to tell himself he didn’t feel a deep sense of satisfaction about that.
Conversely, his reason for breaking up Maria’s date was troubling, and as he considered how messy the situation at the scene was liable to be, he sent a prayer heavenward. He was afraid they were going to need all the help they could get.